


The Other Mile High Club

by hunthatten



Category: The 100 (TV)
Genre: AirplaneAU, Clexa, F/F, anxious!lexa, sleepy!clarke, softies
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-26
Updated: 2018-11-26
Packaged: 2019-08-29 17:50:48
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,743
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16748800
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hunthatten/pseuds/hunthatten
Summary: The one in which Lexa hates flying and Clarke is sleepy





	The Other Mile High Club

Everything in the airport felt suffocating to her. From the droves of people pushing past her to the copious amount of shops that didn’t make sense to her that they’d even be in an airport to the fact that her connecting flight was boarding already, forcing her to give a light jog to make it to her gate on time. Usually, the last part she didn’t mind. She liked to work out regularly, with running actually being one of her favorite things to do. However, with a heavy backpack and an overstuffed duffle bag in one hand, she felt that this wasn’t an ideal time for exercise. Overall, Lexa really just hated airports. More often than not, they worked to spike her anxiety, in part due to them being riddled with thousands of people, but also because being at an airport meant she was going to be flying and _that_ was terrifying. She tried to push her hair back into place, the wild chestnut curls having a mind of their own, especially since she didn’t have a chance to do anything with it this morning. She tried blow a strand out of her eyes and continued trudging towards her gate.

By the time she made it, all but one zone had boarded, and she sighed at the money that she’d wasted in paying for a better ticket, figuring that maybe boarding earlier would help to alleviate the gnawing fear in her chest. As she boarded, she thought of all the possible things that could go wrong, as she usually did. The plane could crash, the wing could fall off, the pilot could have a major medical emergency, the - her thought process halted as she stared into an ocean. She had to blink a couple times to realize it was actually someone’s eyes. They were just so _blue_. It took another passenger annoyedly bumping past her legs for her to finally realize her current position. She was essentially being held bridal style in the woman’s lap, her arm curled around her back to stop Lexa from banging her head into the window. Someone must’ve bumped into her as she was putting her carry-on in the overhead bin. She cheeks were ablaze with embarrassment, and she muttered an apology to the pretty blonde before standing, only to realize that, no, she couldn’t escape seeing as that was her seat. She quickly sat back down, not wanting to anger the other passengers further by holding up the line even more. When she took her seat, she immediately turned to the window, too embarrassed to do anything else.

“I don’t think your cheeks could get any more red if you tried,” at her words, Lexa’s blush only deepened. “Well, I guess I was wrong.” Lexa let the woman’s lightheartedness distract her momentarily, letting herself enjoy the raspy lilt of her voice. “My name is Clarke.”

            Lexa turned slowly to the woman – Clarke – unsure as to why she was bothering to talk to her or why her heart was beating so fast. At least, she pretended not to know about the latter. All the same, her parents had done well to instill manners into her, and she extended her hand.

“My name is Lexa. Thank you for…catching me.”

Clarke chuckled, “You’re welcome. It was no problem really. I’m usually pretty good at catching people.”  
It was Lexa’s turn to laugh, “Is that so? Do you catch a lot of people?”

“Depends on how you define catch,” Clarke said, followed by a wink. Lexa wondered if the wink meant she was flirting, but didn’t have time to find out as the flight attendants were starting their safety demonstration.

It was only an hour into the flight when it happened. Lexa had been reading, trying to distract herself from the thoughts of terror running through her head, when she felt a weight drop onto her shoulder. She went stock still, and her eyes went wide. Swallowing past the sudden dryness in her throat, she looked down to see tendrils of blonde hair spread out across her shoulder and upper chest. She turned more, craning her neck to see that Clarke was out cold, her mouth slightly ajar, small sleep sounds slipping from her lips. Lexa’s heart pounded, and this time she knew it wasn’t from being 30,000 feet in the air.

            Seeing her now up close, Clarke was even prettier than she’d originally thought. Her skin was smooth and supple looking, with a light dusting of freckles across her nose and cheeks. Her lips were a soft pink, and the top one curled up like an ocean wave. She had a very kissable looking dimple in her chin, but Lexa quickly pushed the thought from her head. She’d just met this person, didn’t even know anything about her. Still, Clarke was undeniably beautiful to Lexa. She sighed, resigning herself to the fact that she’d be a human pillow for the remaining hour and a half of the flight, and reopened her book.

            Clarke didn’t wake up until the seat belt sign began to go off, alerting the passengers of the beginning of their descent. She awoke with a sharp intake of breath, grumbling and rubbing her cheek against Lexa’s shoulder, who couldn’t help but softly laugh at how innocent it all was. At the sound, Clarke’s eyes became so wide Lexa could see them from where her head was still on her shoulder. She quickly pulled back, cheeks burning red, eyes still doe-like in their surprise.

            “I-I’m-”

            “Ma’am,” Clarke was interrupted by the flight attendant, “I’ll have to ask you to put your seat belt on. We’re beginning our initial descent.”

            “Right, of course. Sorry.” Clarke quickly buckled her seat belt before turning back to her seat mate, cheeks somehow an even deeper shade of red than before. “And I’m sorry. I didn’t even realize I’d fallen asleep or on your shoulder and-”

            “Clarke, it’s okay.” Well, wasn’t everyone cutting her off today. “I didn’t mind honestly. You helped take my mind off the flight for once.”

            Clarke let a small smile slip at that, happy she could help the green-eyed girl in some way. Even though she didn’t know her, something about Lexa made Clarke want to make sure she was okay. Looking back, she thought it was her eyes. They were such a pure shade of green, and the artist in Clarke itched to paint them as soon as she could. She wanted nothing more than to sit for hours and try to sketch the perfection that was the crest of her high cheekbones and sharp jawline. She realized she hadn’t responded when Lexa cocked her head to the side. _Like a puppy_ , Clarke thought. She shook her head and went to ask what Lexa meant about taking her mind off the flight, when she got her answer.

            The plane shook as the bottom opened and the landing gears came out. Lexa’s spine immediately went ramrod straight, and she turned and pressed her back so deep into her seat Clarke was surprised she didn’t go through it.

            “Lexa, are you okay?”

            She spoke through clenched teeth, “I don’t enjoy flying very much.”

            Clarke wanted to laugh purely at the dichotomy between Lexa’s actions and her words, but she held back, knowing that the other girl wouldn’t understand. Instead, feeling bold, she wrapped her hand around one of Lexa’s, which was clutching the arm rest.

            “You need to breathe through it.” Lexa took in a sharp breath and blew it out immediately. “Okay, maybe a little slower.” Clarke offered another small smile, and Lexa immediately felt the knot in her chest begin to loosen. Clarke looked out the small window, “Listen, we’re about to land, and then we can get off this big flying piece of metal, which I still don’t understand exactly how this works, and maybe get a coffee or dinner or something?”

            Lexa’s head snapped to look at Clarke just as the plane touched down, but Lexa didn’t even feel it. She was too preoccupied by the sea of blue she was staring into.

            “What?”

            “I’m sorry.” Clarke stumbled, “Was that too forward?”

            “No, no…actually it was just forward enough. I’m not very good at picking up on subtle hints.”

            Clarke’s smile spread, “Well we’ll be perfect together then. Most people tell me I’m too straight forward.” She didn’t realize she’d started to lean in until Lexa mimicked her actions.

            “I didn’t think that was possible.” Lexa wasn’t sure where it came from, but she felt intoxicated being this close to the blonde, their breath intermingling with each other. If she leaned in just slightly, they’d be kissing.

            “Ladies,” the stewardess’ smile was more suggestive than Lexa and Clarke’s proximity, and they both went red. “We will need you to leave the cabin. The plane needs to be cleaned and serviced.”

            They both scrambled to get up, Lexa forgetting to unbuckle her seat belt first and getting thrown back into her seat. Clarke unsuccessfully tried to stifle her laughter, and Lexa’s blush deepened further. She offhandedly thought her cheeks would never stop being tinged pink as long as she was around the blonde. She quickly undid her seat belt, and grabbed her bags, shuffling behind Clarke to get off the plane.

            They stood together, avoiding each other’s after their almost kiss and the following embarrassment that ensued. Clarke rubbed the back of her neck, trying to build up her courage. Finally, she sighed, figuring nothing awful could happen. “So…I was actually serious when I asked you for dinner. I wasn’t just trying to distract you.”

            “Well that’s a relief.” Clarke turned to look at Lexa, who was already returning the favor.

            “What?”

            “I was looking forward to treating you.”

            Clarke smirked, her confidence surging at the fact that this beautiful girl would actually go out with her. “I do hate to disappoint.” Lexa smiled and brushed her hair behind her ear, her untamed brunette curls barely fitting behind them. They were small, downright tiny, and Clarke found them absolutely endearing. As the waited for their bags on the luggage carousel, Lexa felt emboldened. She took Clarke’s hand, intertwining their fingers, the tips of her little ears burning. Clarke just smiled, squeezing her hand and bumping their shoulders together. Lexa might never get over her fear of planes, but she loved the feeling of flying she had when she looked into Clarke’s eyes.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you guys for reading! This is my first time posting. I really love to write, and I've never posted any of my writing before, so please let me know what you guys think!


End file.
